In the United States, Major League Soccer (MLS) has handed out a Rookie of the Year Award since its inception in 1996. MLS, as opposed to other American sports leagues like Major League Baseball, only designates a player as a rookie if the player has had no prior professional experience. So, for example, although Taylor Twellman finished second in MVP voting in 2002, he was ineligible for the Rookie of the Year Award because he had played on the reserve team of 1860 Munich.
[edit] Winners
| Season |
Player |
Position |
Nationality |
Team |
Draft Pick # |
Draft Class |
| 1996 |
Ralston, SteveSteve Ralston |
Midfielder |
United States |
Tampa Bay Mutiny |
18 !18 |
1996 MLS College Draft |
| 1997 |
Duhaney, MikeMike Duhaney |
Defender |
United States |
Tampa Bay Mutiny |
87 !87 |
1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft |
| 1998 |
Olsen, BenBen Olsen |
Midfielder |
United States |
D.C. United |
!N/A |
Project-40 |
| 1999 |
Heaps, JayJay Heaps |
Defender |
United States |
Miami Fusion |
2 !2 |
1999 MLS College Draft |
| 2000 |
Bocanegra, CarlosCarlos Bocanegra |
Defender |
United States |
Chicago Fire |
4 !4 |
2000 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2001 |
Faria, RodrigoRodrigo Faria |
Forward |
Brazil |
MetroStars |
13 !13 |
2001 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2002 |
Martino, KyleKyle Martino |
Midfielder |
United States |
Columbus Crew |
8 !8 |
2002 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2003 |
Ralph, DamaniDamani Ralph |
Forward |
Jamaica |
Chicago Fire |
18 !18 |
2003 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2004 |
Dempsey, ClintClint Dempsey |
Midfielder |
United States |
New England Revolution |
8 !8 |
2004 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2005 |
Parkhurst, MichaelMichael Parkhurst |
Defender |
United States |
New England Revolution |
9 !9 |
2005 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2006 |
Bornstein, JonathanJonathan Bornstein |
Defender |
United States |
Chivas USA |
37 !37 |
2006 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2007 |
Edu, MauriceMaurice Edu |
Midfielder |
United States |
Toronto FC |
1 !1 |
2007 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2008 |
Franklin, SeanSean Franklin |
Defender |
United States |
Los Angeles Galaxy |
4 !4 |
2008 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2009 |
Gonzalez, OmarOmar Gonzalez |
Defender |
United States |
Los Angeles Galaxy |
3 !3 |
2009 MLS SuperDraft |
| 2010 |
Najar, AndyAndy Najar |
Midfielder |
Honduras |
D.C. United |
!N/A |
D.C. United Academy |
| 2011 |
Sapong, C. J.C. J. Sapong |
Forward |
United States |
Sporting Kansas City |
!10 |
2011 MLS SuperDraft |
[edit] Wins by playing position
| Position |
Number of
winners |
| Defender |
7 |
| Midfielder |
6 |
| Forward |
3 |
| Goalkeeper |
0 |
[edit] Wins by nationality
[edit] Wins by team
| Team |
Number of
winners |
| Chicago Fire |
2 |
| D.C. United |
2 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy |
2 |
| New England Revolution |
2 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny |
2 |
| Chivas USA |
1 |
| Columbus Crew |
1 |
| MetroStars |
1 |
| Miami Fusion |
1 |
| Sporting Kansas City |
1 |
| Toronto FC |
1 |